Mechanical pickup device for animal droppings

ABSTRACT

A mechanical device for sequentially loading multiple bodies of animal droppings from the ground into a disposable bag. The illustrated device has an elongated handle which carries a pickup means at its lower end. The pickup means includes means for releasibly holding a bag with the mouth of the bag held open in a generally vertical plane, and a movable paddle proportioned and arranged to engage and propell a body of animal droppings into the bag through the open mouth. The movement of the paddle is remotely controlled from the upper end of the handle by an manually movable lever which is operable to impart a rapid propelling movement to the paddle.

United States Patent 1191 Drum et al.

1451 Sept. 11, 1973 1 MECHANICAL PICKUP DEVICE FOR ANIMAL DROPPINGS [22]Filed: Mar. 3, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 231,585

[52] US. Cl. 119/1, 294/55 [51] Int. Cl. A471 13/08 [58] Field of Search119/1; 294/1 R, 19 R,

2,695,488 ll/1954 Harrison, Jr. 294/55 X 507,826 10/1893 Miller 15/2576X 2,999,259 9/1961 Polner l5/257.l X

Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner.1. A. OliffAttorney-Robert M. Ashen et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A mechanical device for sequentially loading multiplebodies of animal droppings from the ground into a dis posable bag. Theillustrated device has an elongated handle which carries a pickup meansat its lower end. The pickup means includes means for releasibly holdinga bag with the mouth of the bag held open in a gen erally verticalplane, and a movable paddle proportioned and arranged to engage andpropell a body of animal droppings into the bag through the open mouth.The movement of the paddle is remotely controlled from the upper end ofthe handle by an manually movable lever which is operable to impart arapid propelling movement to the paddle.

11 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures MECHANICAL PICKUP DEVICE FOR ANIMALDROPPINGS There are a variety of devices in the prior art for picking upanimal droppings. Such devices have heretofore had various shortcomings.The device disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. 3,446,525 has an elongated handleand a pair of open frame members at its lower end which are adapted tohold a disposable film bag, with the bag opening downwardly. The devicemay be then placed over a body or pile of animal droppings and operatedto move the frame members toward one another so as to enclose the animaldroppings between portions of the film bag. Such a device, thougheffective for a single body of droppings, is not satisfactory forsequentially picking up more than one body of droppings. As the deviceis opened for a second load, the initial load will tend to fall out. Theresult is that progressively larger multiple bodies of such droppingswould have to be picked up by the device at each subsequent operationor, alternately, the device would have to be unloaded by removing thedisposable bag after each pickup and substituting a new bag for the nextpickup. Also well known in the art are separate receptacle and pusherwhich are each individually mounted on handles and manually operated bythe user to push the animal droppings into the receptacle fortransportation. Such devices involve two separate parts and thereforetwohanded operation. They also involve the problems of continuallycleaning the contaminated utensils.

The device of the present invention contemplates a mechanical pickupdevice for animal droppings which is remotely operable from the upperend of an elongated handle and which has pickup means at the lower endof the handle capable of sequentially propelling a series of bodies ofanimal droppings from the ground into a disposable bag carried by thedevice.

The herein device comprises an elongated handle having an upper and alower end. A pickup means is provided at the lower end of the handle.The pickup means comprises a stationary bag holding means mounted on thelower end of the handle adapted to releasibly support a disposable bag.The bag is maintained with its opening in a generally vertical plane.The pickup means further comprises a flipping paddle which is movablymounted on the lower end of the handle for movement relative to the bagholder means. The paddle is constructed and arranged so as to engage andpropel the body of animal droppings into the bag through the open mouthActuating means, remotely operable as by a lever at the upper end of thehandle, is manually operated to impart rapid propelling movement to thepaddle. The rapid flipping or propelling movement tends to place theanimal droppings into the interior of the bag. The herein device may beprovided with spring biasing means to return the mechanism to the readyposition after each propelling movement of the paddle.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a mechanical pickup devicecomprising a presently preferred form of the invention. FIG. 2 is a viewof the lower end of the device taken generally along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the mechanical pickup device 10 comprises anelongated handle 12, with a pickup means M at its lower end. Anactuating means 16 is manually operable by the user, by means of a lever18 at the upper end of the handle, to operate the pickup means. Theillustrated pickup means 14 includes a stationary bag holding means 20which releasibly holds a disposable bag 22 with its mouth 23 held at anopen position. The pickup means 14 further includes a movable paddle 24which is preferably essentially solid for engaging and propelling animaldroppings 26 from the ground 28 into the bag through its open mouth 23.The lever 18 of the actuating means 16 is operable to effect rapidpropelling movement of the paddle 24.

Now considering the illustrated device 10 in further detail, theelongated handle 12 may be constructed of any suitable material havingthe desired strength and wear characteristics as, for example, wood,metal or plastic. The handle 12 has an upper end designated 30, and alower end designated 32. The handle should be of a reasonable length toextend from the position of the hand of the user to the ground level.

The drawings show the stationary bag holding means 20 in the form of anopen wire frame. The frame20 is secured at its upper end to the lowerend of the handle by a bracket 21, and extends downwardly therefrom. Asshown in FIG. 1, the plane of the frame is offset somewhat rearwardlyfrom the axis of the handle to facilitate the operation of the device aswill be explained more fully below. The frame 20 releasibly supports thedisposablebag 22. The bag may be of any desired suitable material suchas paper or plastic or wax coated paper. However, bags of plastic filmare presently preferred because of their low cost, relative strength anddurability and resistance to odor and moisture. The illustrated frame 20is generally in a looped figuration, although it might be square or haveany other configuration which may be convenient for fabrication ormanufacture. Peripheral portions around the mouth or opening of the bagare impaled on four prongs or hooks 25 so that the bag is releasiblymounted as shown in the drawings, with the open mouth 23 of the bagdisposed about the frame. The remainder 27 of the bag extends rearwardlyor outwardly from the frame 20 as also shown in the drawings. Othersuitable means for releasibly mounting or securing the bag on the framemay be alternately provided. For example, spring biased or resilientclips might be provided for engaging edge portions of the bag.

The illustrated paddle 24 for engaging and propelling the droppings, hasan upper portion 40 and a lower portion 42. The upper portion 40 of thepaddle, is pivotally connected at 41 to the lower end of the handle 12for movement of the lower portion 42 toward and away from the frame 20.The lower portion 42 of the paddle 24 is generally spoon shaped, havingan arcuate lower edge 44 that is also scooped or concave from side toside, and from top to bottom.

The actuating means 16 includes the lever 18 which is pivotally mountedadjacent the upper end of the handle 12. The lever 18 is connected by amechanical linkage of the actuating means to the: paddle 24. Moreparticularly, the lever 18 is pivotally mounted through a pair of shortarm portions 17 on the handle for pivotal movement about axis l9. Alower end ill of the lever 18 is pivotally connected to the upper end 29of an elongated control rod 33. The lower end 35 of the control rod 33is pivotally connected to the portion 40 of the paddle just below thepivot point 41. Thus, when the lever 18 is moved by the hand of theoperator in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1, the lowerportion 42 of the paddle is moved toward the frame 20. The lever 18 andthe paddle 24 are then in the positions shown in broken line in FIG. 1.It will be noted that the end of the lever 18 moves only about 1/4 thedistance that the lower end of the paddle moves. Due to this multipliedmechanical advantage, a small rapid movement imparted to the levercauses a rapid flipping or impelling movement to be imparted to thepaddle. This causes the paddle to engage and flip or propel the body ofanimal droppings through the open mouth 23 of the bag 22 and into aninterior area of the bag. Thus, when the pickup device is raised, thedroppings will fall to the bottom of the bag to make room for additionalmaterial. The device operates to permit receiving additional loads ofmaterial until the bag has been substantially filled. After usage of thebag 22 is completed or the bag has been filled, it is simple to removethe bag from the hooks 25 around the frame, and close its upper end tophysically contain the animal droppings and also retain the odors withinthe bag. A new bag may then be placed on the pickup device forsubsequent usage.

The paddle may be normally biased to the ready position as shown inFIG. 1. For example, a spring 50 may be connected between the bracket 21and the paddle portion 40 above the handle 12. Thus, after eachactuation of the lever 18 and movement of the paddle 24 toward the bag,the lever may bereleased and the spring 50 will move the paddle back tothe ready position. The lever 18 will also be returned to its readyposition for further operation through the connecting rod 33.

The frame, the paddle, and the actuating mechanism may be made of anysuitable material. For example, plastic which is light-weight anddurable, light-weight, inexpensive, and corrosion resistant may be used.How ever, plastic is generally not as strong or durable as heavier andmore expensive material, such as aluminum or stainless steel.

Themovable paddle may take various alternate forms. However, it has beenfound that the illustrated configuration provides a highly effectiveoperation for propelling animal droppings. In this regard, the paddlenot only engages and moves the droppings, but also 2 tends to raise themupwardly somewhat so that the droppings are adequately propelled intothe interior of the bag rather than merely being moved to the opening.Further in this regard, it will be noted that the lower portion of thepaddle is also disposed at a slight angle to the upper portion so that afurther upward or flipping movement is imparted to the engageddroppings.

In general, various alternate configurations of frame, handle, andpaddle may be utilized to hold a bag open and generally facing thedroppings to be picked up, and to impart a generally upward flip orpropelling motion to the droppings to insure that they move completelythrough the opening of the bag and into the interior thereof.

We claim:

1. A device for picking up animal droppings, comprising:

a. an elongated handle having an upper end and a lower end,

b. pickup means at the lower end of the handle comprising:

1. a stationary bag holder means mounted on the lower end of the handlefor releasably supporting a disposable bag with the mouth of the bagopen, said holder means including bag-engaging means for engaging andholding the portion of the bag around its open mouth, said bag-engagingmeans being disposed in a generally upright reference plane and beingarranged in said plane around an open center area at which the openmouth of the bag is disposed, and

2. means movably mounted on the lower end of the handle and generallyaligned with said center area for engaging and propelling a body ofanimal droppings into the open mouth of a bag held by said bag-engagingmeans, said propelling means having an upper portion and a lowerportion, said propelling means being pivotally mounted at said upperportion for propelling movement of said lower portion toward said opencenter area of said reference plane in a path having an upward componentof movement, the region between said propelling means and said centerarea being open and unobstructed for free flight of propelled animaldroppings, and

c. actuating means remotely operable from the upper end of the handle toimpart propelling movement to said propelling means.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said propelling means comprises apaddle having a ready position spaced from and generally parallel tosaid reference plane, said paddle being movable toward said referenceplane through a predetermined angle.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said angle is substantially less than4. The device of claim 2 wherein said angle is less than 45.

5. The device of claim 2 wherein said angle is about 40.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the lowermost'portion of saidpropelling means is generally vertically aligned with the lowermostportion of said center area.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein said lower portion is spaced from saidreference plane after said propelling means has completed its propellingmovement toward said center area.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein said propelling means is a paddle whichis centrally recessed from side to side.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein said propelling means is a paddle whichis centrally recessed from end to end.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein said paddle is also centrally recessedfrom side to side.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein said bag engaging means comprises anopen loop.

1. A device for picking up animal droppings, comprising: a. an elongatedhandle having an upper end and a lower end, b. pickup means at the lowerend of the handle comprising:
 1. a stationary bag holder means mountedon the lower end of the handle for releasably supporting a disposablebag with the mouth of the bag open, said holder means includingbagengaging means for engaging and holding the portion of the bag aroundits open mouth, said bag-engaging means being disposed in a generallyupright reference plane and being arranged in said plane around an opencenter area at wHich the open mouth of the bag is disposed, and
 2. meansmovably mounted on the lower end of the handle and generally alignedwith said center area for engaging and propelling a body of animaldroppings into the open mouth of a bag held by said bag-engaging means,said propelling means having an upper portion and a lower portion, saidpropelling means being pivotally mounted at said upper portion forpropelling movement of said lower portion toward said open center areaof said reference plane in a path having an upward component ofmovement, the region between said propelling means and said center areabeing open and unobstructed for free flight of propelled animaldroppings, and c. actuating means remotely operable from the upper endof the handle to impart propelling movement to said propelling means. 2.The device of claim 1 wherein said propelling means comprises a paddlehaving a ready position spaced from and generally parallel to saidreference plane, said paddle being movable toward said reference planethrough a predetermined angle.
 2. means movably mounted on the lower endof the handle and generally aligned with said center area for engagingand propelling a body of animal droppings into the open mouth of a bagheld by said bag-engaging means, said propelling means having an upperportion and a lower portion, said propelling means being pivotallymounted at said upper portion for propelling movement of said lowerportion toward said open center area of said reference plane in a pathhaving an upward component of movement, the region between saidpropelling means and said center area being open and unobstructed forfree flight of propelled animal droppings, and c. actuating meansremotely operable from the upper end of the handle to impart propellingmovement to said propelling means.
 3. The device of claim 2 wherein saidangle is substantially less than 90*.
 4. The device of claim 2 whereinsaid angle is less than 45*.
 5. The device of claim 2 wherein said angleis about 40*.
 6. The device of claim 1 wherein the lowermost portion ofsaid propelling means is generally vertically aligned with the lowermostportion of said center area.
 7. The device of claim 1 wherein said lowerportion is spaced from said reference plane after said propelling meanshas completed its propelling movement toward said center area.
 8. Thedevice of claim 1 wherein said propelling means is a paddle which iscentrally recessed from side to side.
 9. The device of claim 1 whereinsaid propelling means is a paddle which is centrally recessed from endto end.
 10. The device of claim 9 wherein said paddle is also centrallyrecessed from side to side.
 11. The device of claim 1 wherein said bagengaging means comprises an open loop.